If you drive a car, please read -

Sarah Kennedy was talking about this proposed car tax scheme on Radio 2. Apparently there is only one month left to register your objection to the Pay As You Go' road tax.

The petition is on the 10 Downing St website but they didn't tell anybody about it. Therefore at the time of Sarah's comments only 250,000 people had signed it and 750,000 signatures are required for the goverment to at least take any notice.

Once you've given your details (you don't have to give your full address, just house number and postcode will do), they will send you an email with a link in it. Once you click on that link, you'll have signed the petition.

The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about �£200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was �£28 for a rural florist and �£194 for a delivery driver. A non working mother who used the car to take the kids to school paid �£86 in one month,

On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit in time you can probably expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill.

If you are concerned about this Orwellian plan and want to stop the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website (link below) and pass this on to as many people as possible. Sign up if you value your freedom and democratic rights -

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax

 

This will never make legislation. I am more afraid of what they are doing whilst this diverts our attention. Signed it anyway, I will refuse outright to comply and deal with the consequences. There is no way with the prison crisis they could handle a mass refusal to comply. If the fuel price protests are anything to go by, I fore see lots of disruption!

 

Blackthorn,they were talking on Radio Northampton this morning and they already have 1,000,000{1 million} signatures,so they have enough people not happy about it,though possibly a few more could sign it...

From what was said the cars will be tracked by satalites? orbiting the earth in space after we have all had the devices fitted to our cars and will be costing us all 20p a mile,so anyone doing lots of driving will most certainley have a lot to pay up.There will be no more long distance holidays for us then up North or down South...
I think we should all refuse to have these tracking devices fitted to our cars.Surely we cannot be forced to have it done unless the goverment will fine us all heavily for refusing...

Someone on the programme also suggested letting the hard shoulder be used as a lane,but I am not sure if that is feasable...

 

I hope you're right about it never becoming legislation BM, us lot in the sticks would be stuffed. I refuse to have Sat Nav as I think it's these devices that the government intends using for tracking - apart from the fact I like reading maps and knowing where I am at all times.
You are right about the 'it's a good day to bury bad news' tactics of this government, what with bird flu and letter-bombs it's worrying what is really going on behind all this.

 

It is so morally objectionable I don't know where to begin. As far as I am concerned car usage should all be paid for at the pumps. Tax, insurance, fuel. I think there is such a model in Australia? It would immediately eliminate the uninsured and untaxed, and put usage and personal responsibility to the fore front of car ownership. Those that do high miles should be given the option to buy upfront tax and insurance much like a pre-payment prescription certificate and then just pay fuel. Its almost a mobile phone model 'pay as you go' or a contract. Either way its no-ones business and certainly not the governments where we go in our cars. Even if they have no use for the information, someone will, and they are not the best guardians of our privacy, as the recent slip with banking details illustrates !

 

I think it`s exactly as BM says.A diversion.They are up to no good.As usual.

 

I sent it to a few friends including one who's an ex-pat in Spain.

An iniquitous, devious system of evil intent. (IMHO!!!)

 

:D Well put MD :D Like it.

 

signed it, I think the government makes enough money from us with their ridiculous schemes they come up with

 

Thanks for the link Blackthorn. I have just signed the petition. I think that the cost implications are horrendous, not to mention the privacy aspect.

It also totally fails to address the important question of global warming. If you must restrict road usage - and I do accept that there could be a need - it should be done by a tax on petrol. That gives us all an incentive to both use the roads less and to drive smaller cars.

My other serious criticism is that there is no obvious link between your driving habit and the bill you will receive. The satellite will know, but you may not be aware. You could receive a huge bill without knowing exactly where and how it was incurred. You must give people incentives at the time to change their habits.

 

Agree with all the above.
There was a lot about this petition in the news last night and it seems the word spread so that people could not access the website :D The government is trying to make out that petitions are signed by people who have not really thought through the issues being voted on. I think that this discussion proves them wrong.

 

as a disabled pensioner i feel we already pay to much tax on our petrol. i swear this is the greediest government,they are always taxing us on something or other i thought we would be better of when we were made join the European
market but no hope

 

They can't get the money I'm owed in child maintenance - 4 years worth but they can track my car at all times
I'm so livid I can barely keep it in

 

I told you Windy I just haven't got it this month

It will never work. Can you imagine the over head of running it. I have had congestion charges for being in london when I have never in my life driven into london. It took several letters to sort out, can you imagine the admin for incorrect charging for this? Plus will it work like BT minimu connection, where you get charged a minimum milage journey. So if I move my car off the drive to get the other one out, is that rounded up to a mile. Would cost me a fortune to wash the cars moving them on and off the drive :rolleyes: Another great idea from the government that brought us suicide bombers in the UK!

Technology drunk fools IMHO, Fuel tax is the way forward, the alternative is just too sinister :(